Madison County: Former Oneida mayor prepares to return to office

Leo Matzke sits behind the mayor's desk in 2005, his first year in office. He lost a reelection bid in 2007 to Republican Peter Hedglon, but reclaimed the office on Election Day this fall. Al Campanie / The Post-Standard
As he prepares to return to the office he held for four years, Leo Matzke has big plans for the city of Oneida.

Matzke will be sworn into office on Jan. 3 and lead his first Common Council meeting on Jan. 5. After losing the mayoral race in 2007 to lawyer Peter Hedglon, Matzke retook the city’s top job earlier this year with more than 60 percent of the vote on election night.

Matzke appointed veteran politician Army Carinci as director of public safety and Justin Murphy to the position of city attorney this week in preparation for the transition. He’s also putting together a new advisory committee to help him tackle tough issues in the community during his term.

Matzke said his first priority will be to examine the city’s finances and make sure that the budget for 2010 will not negatively impact the financial picture in years to come.

“We don’t want to be in the same situation that the state is in,” he said.

Still, Matzke plans to make some changes to the spending plan. Hedglon’s budget did not include funding for a van service that transports senior citizens to social activities, medical appointments and the grocery store. Matzke said he plans to ask the council to move money to cover the program for the first three months of the year as he puts together a committee of volunteers to address the needs of senior citizens.

“I call it grey power,” said Matzke, who said that seniors comprise over 20 percent of the city’s population, second only to residents aged 35 to 50. “We need to address their needs.”

Hedglon’s plan to move the city’s court and police system to the vacant Herb Philipson’s building is likely to continue as planned. During the campaign, the two men differed on the project, with Matzke questioning the need.

“Regretfully, that’s water over the dam,” Matzke said. “Regretfully, the budget I’m inheriting has a 10 percent tax increase. There’s nothing I can do about that.”

His first few months in office will also include a focus on economic development.

“I fully believe we’ve got to bring in small businesses and jobs to the city,” he said. “And we need to welcome them once they’re here.”

Matzke’s first common council meeting will begin at 6 p.m. Jan. 5 with a work session, followed by an official meeting at 7 p.m. Both meetings will be held in the council’s chambers at city hall.